Legazpi City— Some local government units (LGUs) in Bicol will be utilizing the DSWD Listahanan 2 data as their reference in prioritizing aid to affected families by the Enhanced Community Quarantine due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Krizel Lagman-Luistro, Tabaco City chief executive said that the Listahanan data will be an effective tool for them to identify and prioritize displaced workers and marginalized families in need the most especially in this time of health emergency.

Other LGUs in Albay and Camarines Sur namely Pioduran, Polangui, Ligao City, Oas, Guinobatan, Daraga, Cabusao, and Del Gallego have also requested the data.

“Listahanan’s data is free and everyone can access as long as the aim is to assist and help the poor”, said DSWD Bicol Regional Director Arnel Garcia.

He also said that for the complete list of poor households, the data user should enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with DSWD in compliance with the provisions of Republic Act (RA) no. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, a law protecting the right to privacy while ensuring a free flow of information to promote innovation and growth.

Listahanan 2 data was the result of the second household assessment conducted in 2015 wherein DSWD had identified 372,451 poor households out of the 1,082,582 households assessed in the region.

Under Executive Order 867, the Listahanan database may be shared with national government agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs), civil society organizations (CSOs), private foundations, and academe which shall be used as a basis in identifying potential beneficiaries of social protection programs and services.

Last February, DSWD has completed the third round of household assessment with 1,104,325 households assessed across the Bicol region. The agency is now preparing for the validation phase to be conducted in May-June as soon as the encoding is completed. It can be recalled that DSWD started the house to house interview last October 2019 as part of the database updating every four years.

Listahanan is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are in the country.

DSWD’s efforts on Enhanced Community Quarantine

The DSWD Field Office V has already released food packs to local government units (LGUs) that requested augmentation support for the families affected due to COVID-19 enhanced community quarantine.

According to the agency’s Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) report, as of March 25, a total of 20,230 family food packs (FFPs)  amounting to Php 6,452,081.20 has been distributed to the local government units in the region. While there are 7,034 FFPs available at the DSWD warehouse and 3,036 FFPs, 2,000 malongs were prepositioned at the DSWD provincial warehouses in Sorsogon, Masbate, Camarines Sur, and Camarines Norte. The agency has also Php 3 million available standby funds for disaster operations.

Meanwhile, repacking is continuously being done at the DSWD warehouse to build stockpiles ready for release upon LGU requests.

The Provincial Action Team (PAT) and City/Municipal Action team (C/MAT) members in the six provinces were instructed to coordinate with the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (LDRRMOs) for COVID-19 status reports and updates.

Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 highlights the role of the LGUs in disaster response and management as the frontline service provider. Likewise, DSWD as the Vice-Chair for Disaster Response is mandated to provide necessary assistance and augmentation to LGUs such as the provision of food and non-food items and assistance to camp management.##crbarrameda